2D Noodles, Tenleytown, Washington, DC – John Tanner’s Barbecue Blog
I was walking down Wisconsin Avenue headed toward lunch at one of the places near The Ridge (formerly Fannie Mae), determined to walk off some of the baggage from my 2025 Georgia Tour, when I saw a sign, “Soft Opening” at 2D Noodles at 4513 Wisconsin.
Why not? I glanced at the menu posted outside and walked on in. It’s a striking space. The interior is all black and white from floor to ceiling.
Here’s a more detailed look.
Even the staff uniforms are black and white. To your left as you walk in are two self-ordering terminals and a third staff-operated ordering station. I’m not a fan of ordering via computer — I enjoy talking to people — so things move a lot faster if you decide what you’re going to order before you enter. In any event, if you’re having problems or if there’s a line, someone will help or do it for you on the third terminal. Cutlery and water are available at the far end of the room. The staff were very helpful and service-oriented. Popular music played maybe a little louder than I prefer, and the conversations bounced off the hard walls, so it was on the noisy side during the peak lunch hour.
2D Noodles bills itself as an Asian-fusion street food restaurant. The menu itself features lots of pho and ramen combinations along with a boatload of appetizers that could make a good meal. The temperature outside was in the 80s and I had more walking to do, so I decided to put off the pho and ramen until fall and ordered vermicelli with pork.
As you see, it came with a generous bowl of that Thai sweet chili sauce side. Thin slices of quickly grilled pork topped the bowl along with some carrot strips and spouts off to the side, and chopped peanuts atop.
Underneath was a generous amount of vermicelli and below that lettuce and more sprouts and carrot strips. The table also bore squirt bottles of hoisan sauce, dark vinegar, soy sauce, and an unusually assertive sriracha.
The pork was quite flavorful, graced with some soy and other Asian seasonings. I liked it. Some pieces of pork may have been a little large for one bite for some folks, but I had no problem at all and you can, of course, cut it. As I say, I enjoyed it. I tried a touch of each of the various sauces with the pork, but it didn’t really need the help. The vermicelli did, and I mixed in the toppings and had fun testing the various sauces and combinations of sauces to perk up the noodles and the salad at the bottom of the bowl.
All in all it was a good lunch, and the tariff was, I think, a reasonable $16 plus. The food was tasty and the servers were smiling and eager to help. I hope they maintain that attitude and quality. Meanwhile, I’m eager for soup weather, and will be moreso as the summer progresses, so I can try the pho and ramen. Other diners seemed to like them. You should stop by and give them a try. Let me know what you think.
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